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Investigation finds filthy spouts on public drinking fountains | Toronto Star

I usually carry a clean bowl for my dog to drink from after I get some water from a drinking fountain stream without touching anything else.

“You’re increasing your likelihood of a harmful exposure,” water expert Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech told the Star. Pregnant women, children and people who are sick would be most vulnerable, he said. Harmful pathogens that could live on fountain and cooler spouts include e-coli and legionella, which can cause gastrointestinal problems and pneumonia-like symptoms.


Edwards is hailed across North America for his work in ensuring the safety of public drinking water. His research linked several cases of lead poisoning in the Washington, D.C. area, thought to be caused by paint, to local tap water. Lead service lines throughout the district were replaced because of his findings.


Half of the drinking water spouts tested in the Star’s survey — including the Royal Ontario Museum and the Eaton Centre — showed bacteria levels researchers said were “too high to count.”